


Finally (Beautiful Stranger)

by wickeddot24



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M, Songfic, alec and magnus meet at a bar, everything is like sh except nobody knows magnus (yet), maia and alec are like best friends, maia is the best wingwoman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25051651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickeddot24/pseuds/wickeddot24
Summary: “Who’s that?” he asks, nodding toward the booth.Maia follows his finger. “That’s Magnus Bane, why?”Alec falls silent, making Maia turn around suspiciously. “Why?” she repeats, grinning. “Are you interested? Aw, Alec!” she whispers, leaning her elbow on the counter, chin in her hand.ORWhen Alec goes to the bar for the first time in his life, he sees Magnus. On the third night, Alec is as courageous as he'll ever be, and decides to take the risk when Magnus asks him out.Song: Halsey - Finally / Beautiful Stranger
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Maia Roberts, Magnus Bane & Maia Roberts, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis & Alec Lightwood
Comments: 4
Kudos: 115





	Finally (Beautiful Stranger)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying something new: one-shots based off of songs! :) English is not my main language, sorry if there are any mistakes.

This is not what Alec does. Alec isn’t the type of person that goes out by himself - early morning coffee runs excluded (but those are mainly to avoid Clary’s depressing enthusiasm at breakfast). He’s definitely not the type of person that hangs out at a bar late at night. It’s ridiculous and pathetic, something only desperate people do.

Yet here he is, sitting on a stool at the counter for the third night in a row, trying his best not to look like a total creep as he keeps an eye on the glitter-covered booth in the corner.

“Rough night?” Maia asks. “You look like crap tonight.”

Alec shakes his head. “Nothing’s happened for the past three weeks. It’s awful.”

“No, Alec, that’s awe _some_. It’s a good thing to have a little peace every once in a while.” Maia pours a red liquor into a tiny glass, and starts walking away. “You should enjoy it, too.”

This is all Isabelle’s fault. She’s the one that had dragged him to the Hunter’s Moon to see Simon’s performance two nights ago. Alec couldn’t give a damn about that vampire and his music, but his sister is in love with him, and she’d wanted company.

She’d asked Clary, who had to cancel last minute because Jace had organized a date night. So Alec had been her next victim.

They’d sat there, listening to Simon covering songs Alec had never even heard of. So, he’d glanced around the bar all night, looking for potential threats until his eyes fell on a certain, very good looking man. They had shared a few glances and smiles, but that was it.

That’s why Alec has been coming back. Last night, he’d fled the scene after 30 minutes, because the man had gestured for Alec to go to him. Instead of going there, he’d turned around and ran out the door.

Tonight, he’s trying again. Tonight, he feels like shaking things up a little. He’s in a surprisingly good mood, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that Clary had stormed out of Jace’s room earlier today. It’s not that he doesn’t want his Parabatai to be happy, it’s just… Clary. With her bright orange hair that blinds Alec in a very unpleasant way, and her dramatic --

_Cling!_

Behind him, the door opens with a swing, making almost everyone in the café look up. Alec’s eyes widen, because he just knows it’s him.

“Hey!” Maia waves at the man, a big smile on her face.

“Maia, dear,” he replies. He moves past Alec, followed by a faint smell of cologne. He orders “the usual”, and takes his drink to the booth. As he sits down, he eyes Alec, who ducks his head to hide himself behind the beer taps, almost knocking over his bottle in the process.

Okay. Maybe tonight is not going to be different.

A few, long minutes have passed when Alec catches movement in the back of the bar. He swings his head up and _by the Angel, please no._

“Alec, my man!”

Simon stumbles over his own feet at least twice by the time he gets to Alec. _Idiot_.

Alec rolls his eyes and sighs deeply. “What do you want.”

“Is Izzy here, too?”

“No.”

A smile creeps up on Simon’s face. “Wait, so you’re alone here?” He pokes Alec’s shoulder with his finger. “I knew it. You love my voice.”

“Please die.”

“Been there, done that,” Simon says, taking a few steps back. “Hey, I have to get on stage now, but I’ll get back to you when I’m done, alright?”

Alec can only hope he’ll be out of here before that happens.

He glances up at the booth, only to find out the man is already staring at him. The look in his eyes and the smirk on his face speak volumes, making Alec’s cheeks burn.

_This is never going to work._

He lifts his finger to signal Maia, who comes over almost immediately. She eyes his bottle. “Are you going for a second one? Honey, you can barely handle one.” She looks up at him, eyes and mouth wide open. “Is Alexander Lightwood being rebellious tonight?”

“Who’s that?” he asks, nodding toward the booth, completely ignoring Maia’s comments. No, he’s not _rebellious_. No, he doesn’t need a second beer. He needs confidence and courage, but neither of them can be poured into a glass.

Maia follows his finger. “That’s Magnus Bane, why?”

Alec falls silent, making Maia turn around suspiciously. “Why?” she repeats, grinning. “Are you interested? Aw, Alec!” she whispers, leaning her elbow on the counter, chin in her hand.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This is adorable.”

“If you don’t shut up right now, I will --”

Maia snorts. “Oh please, I don’t buy your empty threats anymore.” She stands up, clasping her hands together. “Alec!”

He wants to glare at her, but he can’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. Maia laughs at this, making him smile like a stupid _idiot, Alec, what the hell are you doing?_

His eyes wander back to Magnus, who’s (still?) looking at him. This time, Alec doesn’t hide behind the beer taps. He stares back at him, smile never falling off his face.

Magnus smiles back.

Alec doesn’t hear how Maia clears her throat and says, “Okay, I’ll leave you two to it.” He doesn’t see her walk away with a smirk on her face. He doesn’t notice Maia _at all_ because he’s too busy panicking; Magnus just stood up and is making his way toward him.

“Are you enjoying the music?” he asks when he reaches him.

“I hate it,” Alec blurts.

_Nice one._

Magnus’ eyebrows shoot up. “What are you doing here, then?”

“I don’t know.” Alec brings the bottle to his lips, trying his absolute hardest to act casual. He’s absolutely failing at that.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Alec chokes on his beer, spitting the beverage all over the place. “I’m sorry, what?” he asks, running his sleeve over his chin. “Where? I mean, why? What - what do you want to do?”

“The night is young. We can go anywhere and do anything.” He lifts his hand, blue smoke and sparkles and pure _magic_ coming out of his fingers.

A Warlock. He’s a _male Warlock_ and Alec wants to go out with him and by the Angel, his parents are going to murder him.

“Get the hell out of my bar, Lightwood.” Maia takes the beer out of his hands. “Be a rebel,” she adds in a whisper before disappearing again.

“Okay,” Alec says quietly. He stands up, throwing a five dollar bill on the counter. He’s doing this.

With new-found courage and a racing heart, he follows Magnus to the door. As he walks out, he glances back at Simon, who has just finished a song. His face is wearing that stupid, dumb grin, which makes Alec glare at him.

Simon understands, because all of a sudden, his lips are two thin lines. He moves his thumb and index finger over his mouth, from left to right, as if locking it. He throws the imaginary key over his shoulder and winks.

But Alec knows damn well that once he’s out the door, Simon will pick it back up.

He’s going to kill Simon. And this time he won’t be digging himself out of a grave.

Once they’re outside, they turn to each other. Magnus keeps his eyes fixated on Alec, who shoves his hands into his pockets. He looks at everything except for Magnus (the streetlights are very interesting all of a sudden, especially the ones that aren’t working). He’s starting to think that this is a very bad idea. What the hell are they going to do now? More importantly, what are they going to do after tonight?

“So, Alexander, where are we going?” Magnus asks, pulling Alec out of his thoughts.

Alec frowns. He almost asks how Magnus knows his name, but can already think of two answers. 1) either Maia told him, or 2) Magnus made the connection when she called him Lightwood. He doesn’t want to brag about himself or his family, but everyone knows the Lightwoods. He lets out a sigh, and then shuts his mouth abruptly.

“I’m getting the feeling that this is very one-sided,” Magnus says. “I understand if you don’t want to do this.”

“No!” Alec says, too quickly. “I mean, yes. I mean --” _Get it together, Alec!_

Magnus starts walking toward the park, and Alec follows. “Alexander, dear, take a breath.”

“I do want to do this. It’s just… I’ve never done this before, so I don’t know… how this works.”

They reach the park, and Magnus opens the fence with just the slightest movements of his fingers. “Do I look like someone who does this all the time? It’s been centuries since I’ve actually gone out with anyone.”

Alec shuts the gate behind them, locking it with a rune. He doesn’t want anyone else to get in and find him with a complete _stranger_.

“Why are you doing it now?” Alec asks curiously.

Magnus side-eyes him. “I’ve simply changed my mind.”

As soon as they get to the small lake, Magnus takes the scarf from his neck. He shakes it twice, and suddenly it’s a 6 foot long blanket, decorated with hundreds of colorful dots. He throws it in the air, using his magic to let the blanket neatly fall on the grass. He plops down, letting out a content sigh.

“So we’re just gonna… sit?”

Magnus nods and snaps his fingers. A bottle of champagne and two glasses appear on the blanket. “And drink, of course.” He fills his glass with champagne, and then hands the entire bottle over to Alec. “Keep the rest. You need it more than I do.”

Alec sits down with a scoff. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I’m pretty sure you’re going to get a headache if you keep those pretty jaws of yours so tense. That, and I’ve already had enough to drink.”

“I don’t need booze to loosen up.”

Magnus eyes Alec mischievously over the rim of his glass. “Then what do you need to loosen up?”

Alec inhales a sharp breath before pressing his lips together, trying to suppress a smile. “What do you want to talk about?” he asks, changing the subject. He leans back, keeping his eye on the lake in front of them.

“Anything,” Magnus says.

So they talk about anything and everything for hours. They share stupid things like favorite colors, family and siblings, the demons that scare them the most. They tell each other about their worst injuries, their most dangerous missions, and their experiences with the Clave.

“What do you think about Shadowhunters and Downworlders being romantically involved?” Magnus asks eventually, and Alec can almost swear he’s hinting at the two of them.

“When I grew up, my parents drilled into me that Downworlders weren’t any better than demons. We were taught to avoid them at all cost, and were forbidden to ever get involved with them. I used to think that that was the right way, but…” He looks at Magnus. “Everyone deserves to be happy, right?”

Magnus nods. “You’re absolutely right. What does your family think about you being gay?”

Alec can’t help but wince at the word. “They don’t know it yet,” he admits. “Nobody really knows, actually, except for Maia and Isabelle.”

“Not even your Parabatai?”

He shakes his head slowly. He’s surprised by how much he’s told Magnus already. But Jace is a story for another time. “Just the two of them. Maia found out before I could even tell her. Izzy… She tried her best to act surprised when I came out to her.” He chuckles at the memory. “She knows me too well. If I tell her about tonight, she’s gonna freak out.”

“I already like her,” Magnus smiles.

“She’s the best, but also the worst. There was this time, when we were much younger… She came back from training, and I was in her room waiting for her. And there was this bloodstain on her pants, and I could tell that she was in pain. I thought something had happened to her.

“I ran through the entire institute, looking for Mom, screaming that Isabelle was bleeding and needed help. It took me a while to realize what was _actually_ happening. I avoided her for the rest of the week, because I was pretty sure she was gonna kill me.”

Magnus bursts into laughter, and Alec looks at him. His head is tilted back, and his eyes are squeezed shut. His hands are clasped together, nails painted black. There are glitters in his hair that sparkle brightly under the moonlight.

It’s the first time Alec realizes just how _beautiful_ Magnus actually is. “Not my finest moment,” he mutters under his breath, still mesmerized by the man next to him. There’s something about him that makes Alec not care about anything else. He feels vulnerable, but in the safest way possible. Maybe that’s why he’s already starting to trust him.

The Warlock takes a deep breath to recover himself, and puts his hands back on the blanket. Alec reaches out carefully, tangling his own fingers with Magnus’. They’re slim, soft and much warmer than for some reason he thought they’d be.

He swallows deeply, trying to get rid of the urge to cry.

“Alexander? Are you alright?” Magnus asks worryingly.

“I’m sorry.” Alec draws his hand back. “I’m fine.”

“No need to apologize, dear. It will be okay,” he says, and Alec tries to believe him. But good things never last, especially not with him. And whatever this is with Magnus, feels good.

 _Hold on_ , he thinks to himself. _For as long as you can, hold on_.

“That’s enough soul-baring for one night, don’t you think?” Magnus stands up, making the champagne disappear with a simple snap of his fingers. “It’s nearly four in the morning. I, for one, don’t mind. But you should probably get some rest.”

Alec nods and gets up as well. “Yeah, you’re right. If I don’t get my ass to the institute right now, they’ll probably start looking for me.”

“Ah, and we don’t want them to see us, do we?”

“Just… Not yet.”

Magnus starts folding up the blanket until it’s barely the size of a handkerchief. He keeps his eyes on the ground, and for a split second, Alec fears that he scared him away. But then Magnus reaches out and takes Alec’s hand, wrapping the fabric around his wrist. “So is my stalker meeting me in the bar again, tomorrow night?”

Alec chuckles, glancing down at his wrist. “How about you meet him here?”

Magnus places two fingers under Alec’s chin, forcing him to look up again. He leans forward and brushes his lips against Alec’s cheek. They barely touch, but it’s enough to send electricity through Alec’s body. “That’s a date, then.”

“I guess it is,” Alec replies, his voice hoarse for some reason.

After giving him one last smile, Magnus starts to walk away. Alec wants to run after him and finish _whatever_ Magnus had just started, but decides to just watch him go. His fingers fumble with the handkerchief around his wrist.

And he thinks that maybe, just maybe, it’s safe for him to fall.


End file.
